The start of every season features the ritualistic parent meeting where coaches and parents get to know each other and help shape expectations for the upcoming practices and competitions. Sports Esteem has put together a free handout that coaches and league officials can use to help facilitate introductions and expectations. It includes:

Parent Ice Breaker

Coaching Philosophies

Team Goals

Player Goals

Team Policies

Information on the Role of the Team Activities Coordinator

Answers to Frequent Parent Questions

101 Ways to Praise a Child

The Team Handout is an important step in getting parents positively engaged with the team, the coach and the other parents. It helps make parents part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Skills Development CycleThe Team Handout continues educating parents about the youth sports experience by introducing the concept of the Skills Development Cycle. This concept provides a foundation for parents and coaches to create an approach where kids will want to build skills and improve.

Below is a response we received from the Dalton Georgia Parks and Recreation Department who recently used the Sports Esteem information in their parent orientation program. Please feel free to use the content on this site in your own parent program and please let us know the results.

The parent orientation classes using the Sports Esteem materials have gone very well. This is a first for the parents in Dalton. Over 500 parents registered on-line and around 400 have gone through the class. Many parents have commented that we need to make the class mandatory for every parent at Dalton Parks and Recreation Department.Â Â Â